I’ll take a moment from playing with my new iPhone to post about a favorite recipe   As I think I’ve mentioned before, I’m allergic to some tree nuts, including pine nuts. Since I can’t eat regular pesto, but love basil, I recently started making almond pesto. I can’t tell you how the taste compares to regular pesto, but I love it.

The base recipe is from Giada’s Family Dinners–I’ve just changed the pine nuts to almonds.

Almond Pesto

• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup almonds (I prefer roasted & lightly salted)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (less if your almonds are salted already)
• 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Into the bowl of a food processor, add the garlic, basil leaves, almonds, salt, and pepper. Pulse until finely chopped. With the blender still running, slowly pour 1/2 cup of olive oil. Check for a thick, yet smooth consistency, adding more oil if necessary. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan. (Alternative: add piece of Parmesan to food processor and let it shred it for you. It might leave a few chunks though, as you can see in some of my pictures).

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain, then add pesto.

Stir to mix until pasta is evenly coated.

Enjoy!